Blood is thicker than water
by TsukimoriMadoka
Summary: While on their way through Seattle, in order to find the escaped conduits and a cure for the tribe, Delsin and Reggie encounter a woman who holds a secret they would have never imagined. A journey of fears, doubts and new friendships awaits the brothers.
1. Prologue

**Hello to everyone who stumbled across this fic. :)**

**This is a translation of a story I'm still publishing on a German fan fiction site. It's been a long time since I have written something in English and I'm trying my best make sure there aren't many mistakes – my grammar probably sucks. I've been out of school since, uh.. 10 years or something like that and that's about the time I stopped writing fics etc. in English.**

**I hope the story keeps you entertained. It follows the good storyline with a few changes, the English version might even be a bit different from the original one but that shouldn't be a problem. The outcome will be the same.**

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><p>Yana never had been keen of her mother or better to say the person who gave birth to her.<p>

She often talked about it with her dad, how her parents met, how he reacted when he learned he was going to be a dad.. everything he told her sounded outright cold. As if her mother was some kind of monster without any kind of feelings. It was a strange to imagine her like this.

Yana grew up with her dad. Alone. The only mothers she knew where those of her friends and classmates. They were all so nice, treating their children with love and much care, just like her dad. Since he was a single parent there were a lot of things he had to take care of on his own. But he managed. He was kind to her, always there when Yana was in need of him and if it was necessary he could also be strict. She always imagined her mother just like that but she never knew if this was the truth – not until she was older and met her for the first time.

When she turned 16, Yana finally wanted to know what kind of person her mother was. Why she never called or visited her in all those years.

Of course, over the time she grew up, Yana learned that some relationships just weren't meant to be. People who once had been happy went different paths. There were various reasons for that. Her dad never told her about his reasons and now she would figure them out on her own.

The meeting was organized by her dad. Even after all those years he still had a working phone number he never thought he would have to use. He did it all just for his daughter. The call was short, quite impersonal but Yana's mother was willing to meet her. Maybe it was just because she was curious to see what had become of the little life she gave birth to – at least that was what Yana hoped for.

But all hope was destroyed within a few minutes after they finally met.

There was no warmth or kindness. No warm welcome or anything that showed Yana the woman in front of her felt any kind of love towards her own daughter. Or that her mother had spared her a thought in all those years she wasn't there and that she would be just a bit happy to see Yana.

Cold eyes stared at the girl and equally cold words followed.

"_I expected something positive, looks like this meeting was a mistake on my part."_

And what did Yana expect? To be welcomed with open arms? Somehow she knew how this would end but she believed, no, she had believed there was a chance things turned out different.

Two years ago her mother had required renown at an incident at New Marais. Renown with a bad aftertaste even though it looked like she would fight for something good on the outside. Maybe Brooke Augustine had been a nice woman one day. But this day was far gone and her career always had been more important to her. Now everything that mattered to her was finding and imprisoning every conduit on the planet.

No, expecting to be embraced was a thing you couldn't expect from the woman.

At that moment Yana wished she had listened to her dad. She would have never tried to meet her mother if he had been a bit more persistent. Especially if Yana had known what the future would hold and that her being Augustine's daughter would cause more problems than anticipated.


	2. Chapter 1 - Cappuccino Meetings

**First of all: thanks for the reviews/follows/favs. :) It's nice to see people enjoy this eh.. crappy piece of fanfiction. At least it feels crappy to me since I'm not comfortable with writing in English.**

**Now on to the first chapter. Enjoy. :)**

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><p>Seattle had been Yana's home since two years and she enjoyed every minute of living here, of course, leaving out the recent events involving the D.U.P..<p>

She was 21 and had a small apartment that was far away from downtown and all the turmoil caused by the sheer amount of people walking the streets – she never had been fond of being around many people at the same time. She preferred having her peace which was hard to achieve if you lived in a big and bustling city. But well, it worked. While she wasn't spending her time at home watching some crappy TV show or reading a book, she would be with her best friend or working.

Yana had a job at a small store selling baby wear and all kind of accessories a mother would need. Sometimes she felt out of place. She was still quite young and had zero experience with kids, unlike her co-workers who were all married. Most of them had kids themselves as well. All that plus the fact Yana never had a real family herself weren't really the best conditions for the job but she managed. While she felt insecure in the beginning, she started to get accustomed to the job and by now no one questioned whether she was capable of it or not.

Right now Yana enjoyed her break at a nearby Latte Owl. Cappuccino in one hand and a book in the other, she sat near a window and stared outside. Normally she would have taken the beverage to go but since the D.U.P. came to the city her need for walking the streets in her breaks had decreased. And that only because three conduits managed to escape and Augustine was keen on finding and imprisoning them again.

Augustine.

Since the meeting five years ago, Yana hadn't seen her mother again and she didn't even want to. And now? They probably would run into each other again sooner or later because out of all cities there were, the runaway conduits were supposed to be right here in Seattle. In the first few days, when the D.U.P. started to lock down the city, Yana had wished this was all just a bad joke but she had to acknowledge it wasn't once the first scan stations were opened and no one was allowed to leave the city anymore. And it wasn't just that people weren't allowed to leave. They weren't even allowed to get inside the city. The best example was her best friend. She was attending her oldest brother's wedding in San Francisco. Due to the recent events her stay there became longer than anticipated. No one had the slightest idea when things would become normal again exactly.

Yana had the feeling this would take a fairly long time.

There was enough evidence that at least Abigail Walker or Fetch how the news called her, was in Seattle.

Yana didn't mind. Well, meaning that she didn't have a problem with conduits in general, just the way the D.U.P. handled them and made them look like they were utterly evil. Not to mention that a lot of people believed what they were told. With a sigh Yana turned her attention back to the book. She should have known how things would turn out sooner or later. That her mother would be closer to her than she wished for. After all, Curdun Cay wasn't too far from Seattle.

The prison was located somewhere up north, a few hours by car, behind trees and mountains. It was made for conduits and that meant that it was built in a way that made it impossible for them to escape.

Yeah right. That's why there were conduits on the loose. Well, they weren't _in_ Curdun Cay when they escaped but on their way somewhere else. Whatever reasons there were to transport them to a different location in the first place. Especially if it wasn't as secure as the prison made exactly for people like them. Prison. That sounded so wrong. None of the conduits did anything wrong. They were just... well, not entirely human. Yana had seen how people, who were claimed to be conduits, were taken away. The sheer amount of fear clearly visible in their eyes. None of them believed what was happening to them and no one had the courage to help them.

Conduits weren't welcomed. Of course there were people who didn't have many problems with people who were able to shoot fire from their toes but well, those were few and the worst thing – with all the 'we-hunt-down-conduits' thing – was that everyone who sympathized with them was just as welcomed.

The D.U.P. and its propaganda did a really great job at that.

Another sigh escaped Yana's lips as a D.U.P. truck drove down the street with a fast pace. Something seemed to have happened.

"Hey Joe", she turned towards the barista. "Can you make me a small cappuccino to go? I should be heading back to work soon."

The short black haired man looked at her with a shake of his head. "You know, all that cappuccino you down in a week... I can't even drink that much in one month. Don't you think this is a little unhealthy? You should drink less of that stuff."

"Never", she laughed.

Joe was the owner of the store and he was here nearly every day or at least it felt like that. For the customers he was more than just the owner however. He was a friend. Someone who would listen to your problems like a therapist with the difference that you just had to pay for your drinks and cake. He seemed to always have a good advice, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed to be. Yana found it amazing he wasn't going crazy over the time.

There was so much stuff Joe had to listen to. Talks about the weather, the recent shopping sprees of various wives and relationship problems in general.

In fact Yana had 'used' Joe in the same way. He was one of the very few people whom Yana had told about her mother and what had happened in the past. And so he also was one of the few people who knew that, if Yana hadn't taken her father's surname, she would indeed be named Yana Augustine. And that was a creepy idea.

Another armored truck drove down the road as Yana put the book in her bag. Something bad must have happened but neither Yana nor anyone else could hear a sound. The sirens simply vanished in the distance. Whatever it was, it was far away.

"Augustine on the rise", Joe couldn't help but to snort. "I really hope she'll leave the city soon. All those checkpoints and patrols… I don't even want to start on the cameras", he shook off the unwell feeling building up inside. The thought of being exposed to the constant surveillance of a lunatic was frightening.

Yana walked over to the bar. "Yeah, I understand your point but we can't do anything besides hoping she'll be gone soon."

"As long as those freaks run free? I don't think so."

"Conduits Joe, conduits", she reminded him.

"I know: you don't mind them because they don't do anything wrong", before Yana had the chance to say something Joe continued. "You might be right you know but because they're here I have to go through three controls on my way home", just because he lived on the opposite side of the city. Yana was lucky she didn't have to stand in a line in order to wait until she could put her hand on a scanner. "Everyone in this city is annoyed because of that. I'm just asking myself how long this will continue..."

"Hopefully not for long anymore – at least if you ask me, not that I have anything to say on that matter."

"Well, under… different circumstances I would say you should talk to your mother but that's not an option."

"You're right. It isn't", Yana said while grabbing the cup Joe handed her. "And there are various reasons for that. Number one would definitely be that she won't listen to me", that would've been too easy. Besides, Yana really had no need to talk to her mother at all. If she was lucky, she didn't even know Yana was living in Seattle. The sooner Augustine was gone the better. Joe was right: most of the people were annoyed with her and the D.U.P. in general. A lot of stores were closed. There was no need for bars when no one was in the mood to party. Of course there still were some bars that opened but there were only a few customers in the evening hours.

The whole city seemed to be dead in a certain way.

Things needed to change fast.

It was an understatement to say that Reggie was stressed out. It was more than that but there were actually no words to describe all the feelings that went on inside of him and all because of his little brother.

The moment Delsin woke up and saw what Augustine had done to the tribe, the younger Rowe had decided to follow her in order to get her powers. Reggie understood that he wanted to save his friends... his family so to say, but Reggie was afraid of all the things that could happen. What if Delsin didn't pay attention just for a second? The D.U.P. could get him anytime and that meant he would be taken to Augustine and then to Curdun Cay.

All it needed was one rash action and that was exactly what Delsin had done:

the brothers had been in Seattle for about half an hour and Delsin had marched right into a mobile command center of the D.U.P. which, of course, was a bad idea. Needless to say he had made a lot of new friends who now were after him. It had been Reggie's idea to some extent. He had to acknowledge that but it didn't mean Delsin was allowed to go off and cause confusion – which he could do best.

After Reggie had given him some coordinates of various core relays Delsin had vanished and since Reggie was nowhere as fast as his brother, he could just wait for him to return. But there was another downside: Reggie tried to call Delsin since what seemed like hours. Either way Delsin had fallen into a hole, drained the relays and fell asleep or he was fighting against more D.U.P.'s who probably had already sent around pictures of him, so everybody knew who they had to look for.

A small growl escaped his lips as Reggie stuffed away his phone and continued his way to... wherever. Being unwary of his surroundings – who could blame him for thinking about his little brother right now – he suddenly collided with something or rather someone else when he turned around a corner.

"Shit!" The moment Yana and the man ran into each other, she dropped everything on the floor. An almost sad look went to her cup laying on the ground with the Latte Owl emblem on it. Her blue eyes followed the spilled cappuccino flowing down the walkway before she looked up to meet eyes with the person she ran into – it could have been some old woman after all.

But instead of a nice old lady who was in a deep shock, Yana laid her eyes on a man who looked at her just as worried as she looked at him herself.

"Are you okay?"

His voice was deep and had something very soothing about it. It took her a moment before she answered him. "Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry, I... I didn't look where I was going."

"Same goes for me", Reggie had to smile. She looked distressed somehow – in fact most of the people around did and maybe it was just his imagination but she looked even worse. His eyes turned to the ground before he knelt down and started to pick up Yana's things. She still was a little perplexed because of this whole situation. He was so... calm. Everyone else would've shouted at her, asking if she couldn't watch out and he even took some blame upon himself. Plus the fact that his jacket was now adorned by a dark stain of her drink. As he stood up she finally noticed the inscription on it which made her flinch:

she had just run into a cop.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked again as she handed the bag to her.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm just... you're a cop... I mean... you're an officer. Sorry."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to arrest you because you spilled your coffee on my jacket", he tried to reassure her.

"It's cappuccino, not coffee."

Well that was a reaction he didn't expect at all but it shouldn't bother him. There were other problems he had and if he was honest with himself he found it quite amusing. He declined her offer to pay for the cleaning. Not only because his jacket was the last thing he worried about but also because it wasn't entirely her fault – which she still didn't accept. Just as stubborn as Delsin in a certain way. She said a few more apologies before she continued her previous way, mumbling something about her work and hurrying.

Yana was already on her way when Reggie began to take a step only to notice something lying on the ground in front of him. It was a set of keys and a staff card with a picture of the woman on it, who stood in front of him minutes ago but now was already nowhere to be seen. She probably hadn't noticed the key was missing but he was sure she would. The search for his brother had to wait for now, Reggie had to give the keys back to its rightful owner first.


	3. Chapter 2 - Out of the smoke

**Hello again. Sorry for not updating sooner. Translating this story gives me more nightmares than I had expected. This plus the fact that work keeps me busy. I had a week off but I didn't manage to do the stuff I intended to - Dragon Age Inquisition took over my life.**

**I hope you all had some nice christmas holidays. Also thanks to the people who followed/faved this story.**

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><p>"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"<p>

Yana kept drumming her fingers on a small table in a backroom of the shop she worked at. The moment she came back, she noticed the missing keys. In a blind panic – she had hoped she just wasn't finding them because she was in a hurry, that maybe they were stuck somewhere between other things in her bag – she had turned it around and scattered all contents on the table. Everything was there, just not the keys which meant she had lost them for sure.

It wasn't enough that it were the keys to her apartment but also to her workplace – which were a lot to be honest. Not to mention the staff card. No matter who had her keys: they now had no problems to rob the store and maybe even find out where she lived. Yana began to wonder how to explain that to her boss. This was the biggest catastrophe she could imagine. Slowly, still thinking about a way to explain what happened and also already signing her resignation in mind, she put her belongings back into the bag.

"Hey Yana, there's someone who wants to talk to you."

"Who?"

"I don't know. Some guy, never saw him around before. Say... you sure don't have a boyfriend you keep hiding from us?", there was a playful nudge with the elbow.

"No, no boyfriend and if I had one you would be the last to know. Everything anyone tells you doesn't stay a secret for long. It doesn't even take one hour until the whole neighborhood knows about it", was Yana's answer to a comment she had often heard. Her colleagues, especially Sarah, tried to find a suitable partner for Yana. As annoying as it was, she also had to laugh a little and it was a good thing because she forgot her previous sorrows for that moment. Putting the bag to the side she walked back into the salesroom, her colleague right behind her.

There, with his back towards her, stood the man Sarah mentioned. Yana recognized the jacket he was wearing immediately: it was the same man she ran into just a few minutes before she arrived here. When he turned around he gave her a bright smile.

"What? Am I in trouble after all? I offered you to pay the bill for the cleaning."

"It's not about that", he shook his head and pulled a pair of keys out of his pocket, holding them up for Yana to see. "I guess those might be important and I also have this."

Beside the keys the stranger held up a cup with his other Hand. "Cappuccino. I thought... because I ruined the other one."

Yana's eyes widened. This man had become her personal saint just by giving her two things she really needed now. Mainly the keys, the cappuccino was a positive side effect. "I'm sorry I... I'm just so unbelievably glad you found the keys and came here instead of robbing the shop when you had the chance. I know you're an officer but anyone could have found the keys so... I'm glad you did and I could kiss you right now but... that might not be a good idea."

"Well _I_ like that idea", mentioned Yana's colleague who stood right behind her. She had watched the scene with interest. "You know, if you do so, there would be something I can talk about once the others get here."

"Not a chance", Yana turned her attention back to the man. He seemed to be unsure of what to think about this situation. Well, men and unwanted attention from women. Yana couldn't blame him for feeling like he was at a place where he didn't belong and where everybody turned to look at him. It probably was the same feeling she had back when she started working here. "Sorry for her, she's a tattletale. Thanks for bringing me the keys back to me, I seriously have no idea what I would've done if they were gone for sure."

Besides signing her resignation.

"That's what they call being lucky under the given circumstances, I guess", he handed her both, keys and cappuccino, before he continued to speak. "The name's Reggie Rowe by the way."

A gentle smile on her lips, Yana had already taken a sip of the drink, she looked up at him and held out a hand. "Yana Pierce, nice to meet you."

"You know, if this was a Hollywood movie this would be the famous aha moment and you'd be married next week."

"Sarah!"

"I'm so sorry."

Yana had made sure Sarah's life would be a living hell after the woman insisted that Yana and her new friend should get to know each other. In private of course. So, since there wasn't much stuff to do anyways she had sent both, Yana and Reggie, away to enjoy the rest of the day. Spending time in nice company was far more entertaining in her eyes and Yana didn't even try to deny that. Of course this was nicer than waiting for someone to come by the store. She still wondered why her boss still decided to open it. Just like the bars that were closed most of the days, other shops – regardless what they offered – were closed as well because few people felt like shopping.

Maybe her boss thought the people were in need of baby wear because they had nothing better to do than having sex. Yana would eat her hat if there was a sudden increase in the local birth rates nine months from now.

"She reminds me of Betty. I mean your colleague", Reggie said in a quiet voice. To him this whole situation felt a little surreal. Starting with the whole deal of his brother becoming a conduit in the first place. Who would have ever thought about that? Delsin didn't and Reggie didn't as well. The older man wondered if there were people who wanted to be conduits. Especially after all the things the D.U.P. spread about them. Delsin had just been as scared as Reggie when the realization sunk into him: he _was_ a conduit.

An individual most people feared.

"Who's Betty?"

"Mhm... I guess she's something like a grandmother to me", he turned his head to look up towards the sky as he and Yana walked down the street. "Well, she's a grandmother for all of us", Yana already knew that when he said 'us' he meant a whole tribe. "She's always worried about everyone, keeps us busy and also keeps an eye on us so we don't do anything she considers as something bad", he had to laugh because that actually meant she kept an eye on Delsin since he was the only one to get into trouble on a regular basis. "She thinks I reached the age to settle down or at least marry and have kids."

"Maybe she's right", why did Yana have to side with Betty now? The two women didn't even knew each other. Besides it sounded like Yana was saying he was old. "If she's kind of your grandmother she might want grandchildren."

"There are enough children she can take care of."

"But they're not yours right? I might be wrong but maybe you're one of the more important persons for Betty. Given the name on your jacket I guess she's in Salmon Bay? That's not close by. Not really anyway. So what brings you here, especially at a time like this?", she asked curious. He must have arrived shortly before the city was locked down and she wondered how he managed. Being away from your family and friends wasn't easy, she could tell that.

"My brother does."

"You have a brother?"

"A younger one yes. I promised Betty to keep an eye on him so he doesn't get into trouble."

"So where is he now?"

"Probably in trouble."

It took Yana a moment but she couldn't help herself and started laughing, Reggie joining her shortly after. She was an only child but her best friend had brothers so she knew how clingy older siblings could get. Reggie seemed to be no exception and she couldn't blame him for any sorrows he might experience right now. Causing trouble in a city full of cameras and D.U.P. was one of the worst things you could do. Their laughter was cut short when Reggie's phone started ringing. Looking for said phone, he was surprised when he took a look at the display before answering.

"Delsin. I've been talking about you right now", he gave Yana a grin before he turned his attention back to his brother. "I've tried to call you a few times. Where are you?"

"_Sorry, I ran into some problems with the D.U.P. but they're gone now. Got all the relays as well – I'm not too far from you. At least if I can trust the GPS so don't worry about me. I'm still in one piece._"

"How soothing."

"_Oh come on._"

"Well, unlike you I take things serious. You know why we're here – why you're here. I came to protect you but how does that work if you vanish somewhere and I can't even get in touch with you? This... situation is a little complicated don't you think?"

Yana, who still was standing right next to Reggie, wasn't particularly interested in what he was talking about. Plus it was something private. What she understood was that the person on the other end was his little brother and that he seemed to be fine. Whatever he did that made Reggie so worried. Yana wasn't keen on mingling with other peoples business. And also not with worried brothers. The moment Reggie finished the call, she noticed how nervous he seemed to be.

"You okay?"

"Yeah.. I'm fine just.. my brother is on his way to our location."

Yana raised an eyebrow. "Is this bad? He's fine too right?"

"Yes.. yes..", he gave her a nod, looking around. Reggie hoped his brother wouldn't arrive in a cloud of smoke. Before the younger one hung up Reggie had tried to tell him that he wasn't alone but he wasn't sure if Delsin had heard him. Or wanted to for that matter.

"I'm just asking because you don't look pleased that your brother is on his way here. Is he that bad?"

"No, no, it's just.. he's.."

_A bio terrorist_.

No, he couldn't say that. Besides, Delsin would correct him about the term. After all the term bio terrorist was just made up to scare people, Delsin didn't want to scare anyone and preferred to be called conduit. Reggie liked neither of the names. Delsin was his little brother and that wouldn't change no matter what. Still, if there was a cure Reggie hoped they would find it so everything could go back to normal. Before the accident. Before Augustine.

It was enough that they had their little 'war' with Augustine. Yana had nothing to do with it but if Delsin appeared now things could become messy. Why did he follow her in the first place? So he could get to know her? This had been a stupid idea and there was no way to just sent her away and wait for Delsin. He began to wonder why he cared, why he worried about her even though he barely knew her. Because of his job? He did protect innocent people but there were limits to that. Seattle was full of D.U.P.'s, he couldn't protect the people here but he felt as if he had to and right now he wanted to protect Yana from meeting his brother.

There was something about her, something familiar he couldn't place and who would've thought it was her mother who was the reason for the two brothers to be here? She was a nice woman. One who still had a smile on her face unlike most of the other people in Seattle. He had lost so many friends in the past two weeks and thanks to Yana and her carefree attitude, he could forget all his sorrows for a short moment and that was something he enjoyed.

Still deep in thought he was surprised when Yana touched his arm, a look of worry on her face.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you sure you're okay?"

He didn't even have a chance to answer her.

A cloud of smoke appeared a few feet away from them only to reveal Delsin who fell into a slow jog as he materialized again while scratching his head. It was the same moment he had to realize that his brother had company, cute looking company as well who now looked at him with wide opened eyes as if he was a.. well, conduit.

"Ehm..", he gave both of them a little wink. "Hey."

Reggie instantly went over to his brother, grabbed his vest and pulled him to the side. "Hey? Hey! That's all you have to say? Besides the fact I was worried about you when you stormed that D.U.P. center and then started looking for those relays, I told you I wasn't alone! Why can't you listen to me when I tell you something like that?"

"Keep calm Reg", Delsin took his brothers hands and pushed them away. "You were the one to help me with the relays; I would've never found them if you didn't give me the coordinates so what? And how should I know that '_I'm not alone_' means that you have a date?"

"This is not a date. We were just walking around and..", and.. well Reggie had no idea what they were doing or intended to anyway. There was no answer he could give his brother to explain what he did or why.

The younger brother, obviously aware of the uneasiness in his brothers antics, turned towards the woman he was with. She still stood there like she had been turned to stone, now understanding why Reggie had been acting so strange when he told her his brother was on his way:

"You're a conduit."

Both men noticed that it was no question. She knew what a conduit was and they were surprised she did use the – in Delsin's eyes – right word to address him. She also seemed quite calm. It felt strange since the last people who saw him using his powers ran away while screaming for help because he was a monster. Conduit... Augustine had said it herself: it was a word used by conduits themselves or by people who sided with them. Now it was time to find out to which group she belonged.

He reached out his hand. "The name's Delsin Rowe. It's nice to meet my brothers date."

A bright smile flashed on her lips as she took his hand. "Yana Pierce and I'm not his date."

Also not a conduit.


End file.
